Why Some Kids Get Burned

The impulsive nature of children with AD/HD may make some of them more likely to suffer injury due to burns.

The impulsive nature of some children with AD/HD may make them more likely to suffer injury due to certain kinds of burns. An Indiana University analysis of 278 children who were admitted to a pediatric burn center over the course of seven years revealed that 13% of the burn victims had AD/HD.

The study, appearing in the March issue of the medical journal Burns, showed that burn victims with AD/HD had more extensive burns and stayed longer in the burn center than burn victims without AD/HD. The AD/HD victims were also much more likely to have thermal rather than flame burns, which suggests that they waited longer to get out of a dangerous situation involving high heat.